Addressing a seminar on World Habitat Day Mr Jindal said, only 20 per cent people of Tripura were residing in urban locations and there was an usual trend of rural-urban migration because of better education, health care facilities and livelihood.
"We have experienced the world's most planned urbanized country Brazil as well as Chandigarh and Bhubaneswar of India where there was no provision of decent housing and amenities to the ancillary service providers in the city that leads to growth of slums, which we don't want," Mr Jindal said.
While pointing out the remarkable success in building housing for slum dwellers in Agartala for which the state bagged an award last year, he maintained that the government had targeted to eliminate slums first before planning for a modern city.
Tripura has as many as 80 slums including 55 in and around Agartala that accommodate some 20,000 people at present and the government plans to bring all the slum-dwellers to decent housing complex by the next five years besides, ensuring prevention of any further growth of slum.
He Mr Jindal expressed concern over unequal occupation of land and buildings at least in urban areas and stated that the government had started to spare a serious thought over the issue because census 2011 data reveals that about 30 per cent people of Tripura were residing in urban areas but more than 44 per cent housing were recorded in urban areas.
The Urban Development Secretary sought a meaningful contribution from technocrats for urban planning to ensure decent housing as well as to provide basic amenities to the dwellers, as urban population growth recorded 2.79 per cent per annum in the last decade.